Baked Butternut Squash, Raisin and Pine Nut Lasagna

justcallmetoni's Note:

This was one of my favorite Weight Watchers recipes and a nice variation on the standard red sauce lasagna. It is creamy and a bit sweet from the squash and raisins and oh so satifying. As presented here, it is a bit higher in points than the original (7 versus 6 points) but I think is a more appealing, creamier dish. Whether you are doing WW or not, you'll enjoy this one. I've also added 1/2 cup of part-skim ricotta (4 points total) to the middle layer at times with good success.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups fat-free evaporated milk
• 2 -3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt (to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (to taste)
• 10 ounces dry lasagna noodles, cooked al dente (about 12 noodles)
• 16 ounces cooked winter squash, mashed
• 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3/4 cup golden seedless raisins
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare lasagna noodles as directed on the package.
3. To prepare the squash, peel and remove seeds, trimming into 1 or 2 inch cubes. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook until just tender. Remove water and mash by hand. (You can also do this in the microwave if you have one.)
4. Place flour in a small saucepan over low to medium heat and very gradually whisk in milk and garlic. Warm milk slurry, stirring constantly, until sauce simmers and is thickened, about 3 minutes. (It will continue to thicken in the baking so don’t worry if it seems a bit thin at this stage.) Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.?.
5. Spread 1/3 cup of cheese sauce over bottom of a 9 X 13-inch glass or metal pan and cover with 3 lasagna noodles; top with 1/3 of squash and 1/2 cup of cheese sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and spread with 1/3 of remaining squash and 2/3 cup of cheese sauce; sprinkle with 1/4 cup of raisins. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and top with remaining squash and raisins; cover with last 3 lasagna noodles, pressing sheets firmly down. Top with remaining cheese sauce; sprinkle with pine nuts and remaining mozzarella cheese.
6. Cover lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until lasagna bubbles around edges and is browned on top, about 15-20 additional minutes.
7. Slice into 8 pieces and serve.

Reviews

[CaliforniaJan]

Tasty alternative to traditional lasagna and nice for fall. When I calculated the points as listed it came to 8.

[Cookworm]

We really enjoyed the flavor mixture of this recipe. I love how inexpensive it is. We did feel like it might need a bit more salt but as it does specify to taste I can't fault the recipe too much. Thank you for such a different and wonderful meal!

[Irene H Forster]

I came here to post this! I just made this tonight off the WW website. I was looking for something to use some leftover butternut squash, and came across it on the WW site. It appealed to me because I'm a huge fan of the butternut squash ravioli that Lean Cuisine makes and this seemed to have the same flavor components. I made it as written on the WW site (with 2 1/2 c evap milk). It was fabulous and now I can recreate that wonderful sweet/savory taste at home. I know the flavor combination seems odd at first, but it's awesome, I highly recommend it! One more note. I used the no bake noodles and added about a cup of ff milk to the sauce for the noodles to soak up -- I added it after the thickening step, mixing it in. Worked beautifully! I thought I'd miss the ricotta, but I didn't, at all! thanks!